We can turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 16. Deuteronomy 16, we're going to look at verse 18. to chapter 17, verse 13. So I know it's kind of overlapping some chapters, but that's kind of the section there on justice that must be administered. Deuteronomy 16, we'll begin reading at verse 18, all the way to chapter 17, verse 13. And then We'll see what happens next week, but the next time we do Deuteronomy, we'll do principles concerning kings. But tonight, Deuteronomy 16, verse 18. You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. He shall not pervert justice, he shall not show partiality, or take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. He shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not plant for yourself any tree as a wooden image, excuse me, near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God. You shall not set up a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates. You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which is any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God. There is found among you within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the hosts of heaven, which I have not commanded, and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, that you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses. He shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you. If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt or bloodshed, between one judgment or another, between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. You shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them. They shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment, He shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses. He shall be careful to do according to all that they order you. According to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. Now the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel, and all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously. Amen. Well, the government's response to COVID-19, I think, forced us all to stop and consider the relationship between the church and state. What is the government's task? What is the government's role under God? What is the church's task? What is the church's function? And how is it that they relate? Can they relate? And who, what powers has God given to each of those institutions? I argued hopefully with my not just my mouth but talk as well that the government overstepped its bounds and that by dictating that worship must be stopped by dictating that what worship is in light of everything that was going on. Now, even though we went against the government in that choice, it doesn't change the fact that God still does command us to obey the governing authorities in all things lawful. When they overstepped their bounds, we had to obey God rather than man. But it's important to be nuanced. We're not extremes going one way or the other. We certainly believe we ought to obey God's governing authorities that He has set up. They have a specific task that they have to engage in. They have a specific role they have to engage in. But we ought to obey them in all things lawful. And they are not to overstep their bounds as well. And this was important for Israel as a theocracy, as a nation under God, as a people chosen and brought out of the land of Egypt and brought to the plains of Moab before they enter into the land of Canaan, where they would be a full-fledged country. And so this is what we see in the book of Deuteronomy. God is setting forth through Moses, the mediator, how Israel was supposed to live as the covenant people in the land of Canaan. How are they supposed to live under that special status as the people of God? It's rooted in God's goodness and rooted in what God had done for them in order to retain the land. It was based on their covenant keeping. I've tried to highlight that Deuteronomy is a covenant of works for the people in the land to retain the land for life in the land. Salvation is never held out in it, but is meant to be for life in the land. And the book itself is structured like a covenant. There's a preamble that highlights the parties. There's the historical prologue where we see the history between those parties. And then the biggest section is the stipulations, the rules, what they must do in order to have a good life in the land. Deuteronomy 5-11 was this general legislation or general stipulations based on the Ten Commandments. And then for the past several weeks, we've been looking at the specific legislation that is specific commandments fleshed out about life as a theocratic nation. And again, it's the 10 commandments fleshed out for Israel as a body politic. We saw a cycle of the fourth commandment, Sabbath rest, Sabbath principle. We saw various feasts reviewed for us last time. Now we transition to the fifth commandment. honoring your father and your mother isn't just honoring your father and your mother certainly that's part of it, but also includes other institutions like the civil magistrate and certainly that is the main thing from chapter 16 verse 18. Chapter 18, verse 22, how judges, priests, kings, prophets function in Israel as the rulers and as the delegates that are delegated by God to administer justice. Because one problem that certainly arises is the problem of injustice. I know that's such a loaded term in our 21st century context, but injustice and justice, the two of the antonyms that go together, certainly are connected to, are defined by what God says. Not what man says, but what God says is unjust. What God says is not right. And what God says is versus what God, yeah, what God says is not right and what God says is right. It's not based on what we think, what we desire, but what God says. This was a problem for Israel. When they violate, when they will violate the law, when they engage in injustice, it is violating God's law and the specific covenant that he gave to them in the book of Deuteronomy. And certainly there are some principles we can glean from this section for a modern non-theocratic application. But we'll hopefully see that as we go through. But the laws specifically are for Israel as a body politic. So in Deuteronomy 16, 18 to 17, 13, God delegates the administration of justice to just judges. So it's about right and wrong in the land to make sure the people, there was no anarchy in the land. What justice ought to be, then God administers it through various men. So we'll look at this justice, judgment, judges under three headings this evening. First of all, we'll see the appointment of judges, chapter 16, verses 18 through 20. Secondly, we'll see the need for judges, 16, 21 to 17, 7. And then lastly, we'll see the difficulty of judges, verses 8 through 13 of chapter 17. So the appointment of judges, the need for judges, and then lastly, the difficulty of judges. So let's first look at the appointment of judges in verses 18 through 20 of chapter 16. So we need judges in the land. And notice God is the one who works through these judges. God works through the ordinary means. This is how he's going to administer his justice for Israel as a body politic. And notice as well it's not just the judges for the important importance of the people in a nation. It's not just top down approach not just kings making you know you know executive orders and laws, there are meant to be checks and balances in place when it comes to any good nation. any good functioning nation, and certainly the people play a part. Notice he says, verse 18, you shall appoint. The people are supposed to elect, the people are supposed to choose good men, just judges, who are connected with their various tribes to lead their people well. And God will hopefully use those men to bring about justice in the land. We saw this in Deuteronomy 1.8. God had already done this. Jethro gave a good suggestion for Moses in Exodus chapter 18. Moses can't just sit there and he can't just be the one to judge all the problems in Israel. He needs help. He needs aid. He's not a disembodied spirit. So God is good to give various levels of government. And he gives various levels of government here for us in this section. Certainly the king is one branch of that. He certainly has the executive order, certainly has executive control, but it is still limited. And that's what's interesting, that's what's important even too when we consider a modern context. And one of the geniuses or the geniuses who wrote the American Constitution is they took various types of government and put it all into one government. monarchy, the president, aristocracy that's ruled by many, we see that in the Senate. Then lastly, we see what we know, a republic, or sometimes democracy, we see that in the house where the people are represented there. But what was interesting too, is when the founding fathers wrote the Constitution, they pitted the depravity of man against one another as a check and balance. the House doesn't want to give up power, the Senate doesn't want to give up power, and the President doesn't want to give up power as well. There are meant to be checks and balances in place in a good functioning nation. I'm not really making a comment on what's a proper form of government. I think all can be done well, monarchy, aristocracy, republic, but there are meant to be checks and balances in place because man is wicked, man is depraved, and man violates such things. But in any case, God still, even in Israel, had checks and balances in place. Now man is depraved, and the people go against those checks and balances, and corruption still occurs. But we ought to appreciate what God is doing here with respect to how He wants justice to be administered. for Israel. So you shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, judges to discern what is right and wrong, to determine the right course of a various situation, perhaps like a modern judge, officers perhaps could be like modern policemen, but their purpose was to uphold and discern the truth. Uphold and discern what is right, and then make decisions accordingly. So they're going to point judges and officers in all your gates member gates are kind of like where city hall. It's where they would engage in administer justice even issue bring it to the gates. So each city would have gates, each tribe would have cities, and God would appoint judges in each of them. According to your tribes, they shall judge the people with just judgment. Judge the people with righteousness. And notice what they're not supposed to do, verses 19 and 20. They're not supposed to pervert justice. not supposed to bend it, not supposed to change it, not supposed to make it fit what they want. They have a command and delegation from God. God has chosen them and appointed them through the people for a specific purpose, not to do whatever they want, but to do what God has appointed them to do. They're not meant to pervert justice. And one of the curses in Deuteronomy 27 19 is cursed is the one who perverts justice to the stranger, the fatherless, and widow, it must be done accordingly. And notice as well, you shall not show partiality. That was a problem later on for the people, wasn't it? They judged perhaps those who are less than them, they thought. Perhaps they judged those who were poorer than they were. That's one of the key sins that we see for why they were vomited out of the land. There are so many different sins that they engaged in. That was one of their sins. They didn't care for the fatherless and the orphan. They didn't care for the widow. They didn't care for the people who were in need in their land. One of the ways they didn't do that is by showing partiality. Perhaps they had a friend. Their friend got off scot-free, whereas someone else got the harshest letter of the law. It was a wicked thing that they engaged in. They certainly do this later. Malachi 2, 9 as well. The priests, who we'll see later, are kind of like the Supreme Court. They're meant to be the ones who know the law the best and then to administer it properly. Well, they're perverting justice as well in Malachi chapter 2. Even after they come out of captivity, they didn't learn. They didn't pay attention. They didn't listen. They still perverted justice and showed partiality. They notice as well they're not supposed to accept a bribe for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous systems built on bribery only benefit the wealthy, because they're the ones who can pay it. They're the ones who can benefit from it. They're the ones who can say, here, make this go away. The poor cannot do such things. And man is desperately wicked and easily turns a blind eye, even the wise, even the righteous, for a little bit of cash in the back pocket. And Christopher Wright makes an interesting observation. with this. If the means of restitution, that is judges, become corrupt, then there is only despair. If the means of restitution becomes corrupt, then there is only despair, because you hope that the ones who are appointed to uphold the law would do so when they stop when there is no justice when there is no restitution, then man finds no recourse in this present evil age man finds only despair. They're not supposed to do that, though. God's judges are not supposed to do that. He shall do what is righteous, verse 20. He shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which Lord your God is giving you. That could be their banner. When they sit in their office, they need to hang that plaque up. In the Hebrew, it says, righteous, righteous, you shall pursue. Justice, justice, you shall pursue. Again, I think every judge needs to take that Deuteronomy 16 verse 20 and plaster it on their wall. Justice, justice, you shall pursue. do. That's what they were supposed to engage in. And notice for Israel was important about life in the land. We've seen this refrain before, but you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving to you. All of Israel is meant to live rightly. They all fail miserably in it, but they were meant to live rightly in order to live long in the land. So God appoints judges and officers to administer justice. Now, there is a common kingdom application for even our 21st century context as well. God appoints magistrates even today. Now, we're not under a theocracy. That's important to understand. We're not under a theocratic nation. We're not Israel as Canada. um certainly we are the new israel as the church of the lord jesus christ and god which we call the redemptive kingdom and god certainly appoints officers in his church and appoints officers of his redemptive kingdom but he also does so with the common kingdom as well this is where romans 13 comes in and romans 13 is perhaps one you've I've heard a lot of people quote lately. Maybe not. That's kind of faded though, hasn't it? I think last year was very much in people's minds. Romans 13, verses 1 through 7, talking about authorities, talking about the place where God's vengeance comes from, and it comes from rulers. And notice God appoints them. They have been ordained by God in verse one. We see their purpose in verse three. They're not a terror to good works, but to evil. You want to be unafraid of the authority to what is good, and again in God's sight, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. They're meant to be good. They're meant to administer justice. They're appointed for a specific task. It's not ruled by fiat. It's not meant to be for their own personal gain. They're meant to be ministers to the people. They're meant to serve the people. And when they fail to do that, they stop being the minister God had supposedly appointed. They stop engaging in the task that God has appointed unto them. They are no longer perhaps worthy, we could say, for that very office. They're meant to be God's ministers. That's it. to punish the wicked and protect the innocent. That is the role of the civil magistrate. That is it. None of these fancy programs, none of this green agenda that's going to make my life more expensive, none of this stuff with respect to all of these different... No, the government's one role and one task is this. That's it. And when they fail in that, when they're spread too thin in other ways, they're going to fail in this very task for which God has called them to. They are meant to be God's ministers, to rule with justice and with equity. And we are meant to submit to them, which I'll talk about more under the third point, but they are still called God's ministers, attending continually to this very thing. Tyranny certainly is wrong, brethren, but so is anarchy. We're not anti-government, we're anti-big, massive, huge government. We want the government to do what it's supposed to do, but it's given by God, even if they're unbelievers, they still have a task under God to do what is right. And sometimes, And many times in history, Christians have to endure bad governments, don't they? Wicked, tyrannical, awful, self-serving governments. And sometimes we have to endure for a long time. God still calls us to submit unto them in all things lawful. When they go against it, then we have to obey God rather than man. There are times for noncompliance. And I certainly think there are times I need to qualify this because perhaps somebody is listening to me, but there are times for revolution. I think biblically speaking, there are times for it. I'm not saying we're in it, but there are times for armed revolution in a self-defense manner. And I think it's perfectly biblical to engage in. I'm not calling for that if you're listening, but I'm just saying there is a perfect, there is a time and place for that. He clearly is listening to me, isn't he? He probably is. But in any case, I'm not calling for that. I'm just saying there is a time and place for such a revolution, we could say. So God still appoints judges in this world. And thankfully, that highlights he is reigning over all things and above all things. But he still rules and reigns through magistrates. So that's the appointment of judges. Let's then look secondly at the need for judges in verse 21 to 17, 7. Then Moses then goes on to talk about unrighteous worship. And I was scratching my head for why verse 21 through 17 are here. But perhaps, again, that highlights the difference between Canada and Israel. Again, we are not a theocracy. Canada is a federation. Certainly the church, we could say, is the kingdom of God. We certainly could say it's the redemptive kingdom. That's the church. That's where we see the kingdom of God. uh there we certainly highlight God still rules the world but the nations of this world are not theocratic anymore we're not looking for God's nation we could say that is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ but God still again rules in this world but one thing again that perhaps is different for Israel as a body politic as a theocracy is their religious crimes had political significance Why is it that they're stoned to death if they violate the first, second, third, fourth commandment? Well, it's Israel as a body politic. It was the same as treason. We can liken it unto. And so when we see the reference to worship here, it is a serious thing. And we're going to see, too, that they're going to transgress the covenant by violating the second covenant. So certainly, again, we take the general equity, the justice behind these principles, and we can glean good things and apply them you know, for us. But it might not, it's not always a one for one. I'm just going to be honest with you and a civil observation for a modern context. I don't know how helpful it would be to punish people of differing religions. I think we're the way you know, we have the one way there's only one way through Christ. I'm not saying there's many roads to heaven. I'm not saying that. I'm saying a civil, this present world understanding and context, religious freedom, I think, is legitimate, even for someone who might differ than me to be able to practice their religion freely in this world without molestation. I'm just saying, I don't know how helpful it would be if we, you know, started killing all the differing religions. I'm not calling for that either. I'm just saying, I don't know how helpful that would be. I feel like my words can be twisted. That's why I'm telling the phone that I'm not calling for that. But I'm just saying, I don't know how helpful it would be. We're not Israel. The church is Israel, but Canada is not Israel. In any case, for Israel, it was like an unto treason. So the problems of idolatry certainly are many in Israel. verse 21 you shall not plant for yourself any tree as a wooden image that is Asherah so that's what like the Asherah poles near the altar which you build for yourself the Lord you shall not set up a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates. So this harkens back to Deuteronomy 5 with the second commandment, our God is a jealous God, harkens back to Deuteronomy 12 when it comes to the first commandment and second commandment where their worship was meant to be the place of God's choosing. And so they were meant to worship God at the place of His choosing, worship Him only. To not do so would be treason and would be worthy of death for Israel as a body politic. What's interesting too, though, is it's not just a covenant violation, but perhaps they're setting up a rival place of justice to be administered. And this is in connection with what we'll see in verses 8 through 13, where if there was a difficult matter, the people were supposed to go from their cities or their gates and go up to Jerusalem to the Supreme Court and have a ruling there. So perhaps not only is it violating the First Commandment, not only is it treason, but they would be setting, should this happen, which does happen, they would be setting up another place of justice. And gods cannot administer justice. Only God administers justice through whom he has chosen so you shall you shall not do that 17 one you shall not sacrifice the lord your god a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect for this is an abomination to lord your god shall not bring any abominations unto him shall not violate this covenant or this law in any way Again, problem in Malachi's day. Malachi's day, they just had so many issues. Malachi 1 highlights how they worshiped, or they brought sacrifices with blemishes on them. When they were supposed to approach unto God, the high king of heaven, you bring your best. You don't say, I'm going to keep my best and give them the worst. And that violates God's covenant with, or Israel violates that covenant with their God. So problem in Malachi's day. They're not supposed to do that. So this then leads into what happens if you find someone worshiping other gods. What do you do? How does that procedure occur? Again, there is meant to be, even with this justice administered, there's a process and diligence involved. So there's no false accusations brought against someone. Notice verse two, if there is found among you within any of your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman. We don't discriminate. God doesn't discriminate a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God in transgressing His covenant. How to deal with these idol worshipers. Even if Israel is not perfect, which they are not, hopefully they would then be able to deal with the issues that arise. That's one of the problems. They just let things slide. They don't deal with covenant violations. And so these ones would be transgressing the covenant. The language is found, I think, in Joshua 7, with Achan's sin, his treachery that he engaged in just takes a little bit, that treachery that occurs that leads to them being defeated at Ai, and they were supposed to take Ai because Ai was a tiny little place. We took Jericho, Ai's fine. But because Achan took that sin and engaged in that treachery, They were routed at Ai when they should have won. So when one transgresses, they all transgress. And notice how they do this. Verse 3, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the hosts of heaven. This alludes back to Deuteronomy 4.19, where the Lord God says, don't do that. Don't lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the hosts of heaven, and you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the hold of heaven as a heritage. But it's the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. Don't engage in idolatry. Unfortunately, our hearts are like idol factories. Ooh, the sun, let's worship that. So that likely will occur in Canaan And it does occur in Canaan. Here's what you're supposed to do. You're not saying they all did this right. But this is what God says you're supposed to do. He says, verse four, and it is told to you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. It's not just hearsay. Not just someone said, okay, let's go get them. You go and make sure that that person actually engaged in idolatry. you go and inquire diligently to make sure you don't get that wrong. To make sure that the one you're going to stone and be the first to throw that stone actually violated the covenant in this way. So you're supposed to go and inquire diligently. This is similar in Deuteronomy 13. You can't just kill your wife or your husband after they speak some sort of heresy. You have to inquire. You can't just kill the prophet or dreamer of dreams. You have to make sure that you can't just go engage in civil war against cities that are apostatizing. You have to go and make sure that it actually is engaging is or the people are engaging in wickedness. So make sure it happens. Go and inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true, verse four, and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel. So again, making sure verse five, then you shall bring it before the judges at the gates, bring it before the tribunal at the gates, you shall bring it out to your gates, that man or woman who is committed that wicked thing, and notice the punishment, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. I know sometimes, especially in Canada, people get scared over the death penalty. I'm going to shock some of you, or maybe not because you've been here for a while. I believe the death penalty still ought to abide in a civil sense. It is God's way in which we see in Romans 13, the way in which God administers justice, doesn't he? We see him talking about how vengeance is mine. We're not supposed to go get vengeance, but hopefully one of the purposes of the death penalty, and it's rooted in Genesis 9, it's rooted in the Noahic covenant, whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood, shall be shed. The one who takes innocent life will have his life taken from him. And the purpose of the death penalty, the purpose of all the various penalties that we'll see here, is to make the people stop and think, if I do that, that's going to happen. If I do this, this is going to occur. That's what its purpose was meant to be. Now, again, our modern context, which crimes? Obviously, murder. Should rape be in there? Kidnapping? I wouldn't say no or opposed to that. Which caused people to stop and think and consider before they engage in such things. I think I've said this before, the safest country I've ever been to is Singapore. They have like 1000 different way different rules that they enforce, and many different crimes are punishable with the death penalty. You can walk around 11 o'clock at night if you're a lady and not worry one thing about such a worry about worry about such thing we're asking them so you just walk around 11 right now it's fine. Because it's a safe place to be because they actually enforce such things. So, I do believe the death penalty ought to still apply. It's a travesty it's not in Canada, but again it ought to be done proper checks and balances in place proper judicial processes. And we even see here, checks and balances, verse six. Whoever deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses. He shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The ninth commandment is crucial for judicial processes, isn't it? Telling the truth. or telling a lie could be a life or death scenario for someone. You need to make sure that it's not just one witness, but multiple witnesses. And this is so different from our modern social media enthused context. Now, maybe it's not judicially, but certainly what people see socially applies judicially. People are guilty until proven innocent, aren't they? It must be the other way around. Innocent until proven guilty. The way social media works, the way cancel culture works, the way various leftist views work, it's meant to silence people right away. I'm like, one thing. That's it. The sad part is by the time the innocence is proven, someone's life is ruined, isn't it? jobs taken away, reputation destroyed. We live in a topsy-turvy situation today, dear brethren. And again, as I'm reading through these, this is for Israel as a body politic. We have to appreciate what God is doing here and pray that God would raise up just civil magistrates in this land. We can pray for three things for our religious leaders, for redemption, for restraint and for removal if they don't rule of justice and with equity. That's absolutely legitimate. We are called to pray for kings in high places that we might live quiet and peaceable lives, aren't we? At the same time, we can pray God raise up one who rules with justice and with equity. Brethren, I'm not gonna say if you wanna, I'm not saying you should join politics, you young people. We need some solid young people in politics, don't we, that have an understanding like this to get into, you know, go fight the leftists of the world, to take them out that way. I'm not saying you have to, I'm just saying it would be cool to see something like that. In any case, it has to be two or three witnesses. And then notice further another check and balance, verse seven. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death." Again, another psychological check. You must be absolutely sure and you must then put your money where your mouth is. If you think that person is the one who engaged in idolatry, You're the first one to cast the stone. You're the first one to throw that first rock at them. We're going to see later on as well with respect to witnesses. If there's a false witness, there's a check and balance there. If someone lies about something and it's found out, whatever the punishment was going to be for the accused, we now will go on the accuser who engaged in that false witness. So again, It was meant to have you stop and think. It's meant to have you stop and consider. And notice as well, the people afterward, the hands of all the people. It was a public affair. I think I said last time when I mentioned this, I can't remember when in Deuteronomy, I remember reading a Canadian history, I think it was about John A. Macdonald. People would take their kids to executions. I mean, that's just something that's so foreign to us. But the purpose of it was so that the people would stop and consider. You see all that there is meant to cause us to stop. and consider. It was meant to cause people in various nations to stop and consider before they did something, before they engaged in a transgression, before they brought a witness against a transgression. It was meant to be a check and balance in place. And brethren, We ought not to downgrade the benefits of those external protections. We ought not to. Even in the Christian life, dear brethren, it would be nice if I did everything with the whole heart. Wouldn't that be great? We just had a whole heart for God. We loved our God with all our heart and all our strength and all our mind. But guess what, brethren, we got remaining corruption. And thanks be to God for the Lord Jesus Christ, who forgives all of my sins, and all of my tainted motives, and all of the vile things. I think even the good things I want to do, I still have wicked thoughts with them. And so my point in this, dear brethren, sometimes in our battles with sin, and even the Proverbs highlight this, it's okay to have some external deterrent for you. Even our battles with sin, isn't it? What does he say when he talks about the seductress? Don't go down her street. Don't go down near to her. It's perfectly okay to have those things in place. And even too, societally, You know what was a big, big, big, big downfall when it came to marriages? The bringing in of no-fault divorce. Because before, the one who was going to divorce would be liable. Now it's no fault. Divorce has skyrocketed. In fact, Ronald Reagan, that was one of the things he says he regretted when he brought that in, was bringing in no-fault divorce. Sometimes external protections are okay, certainly as a society, but even sometimes in the Christian walk, yes, I wished that I loved the Lord God with all my heart all the time. Sometimes I don't, dear brethren. Actually, most of the time I don't. but sometimes we need external protections. Even if I'm struggling to eat certain things, I sometimes ask my wife, can you please hide them from me so I don't eat them? That's perfectly okay. For some reason, not just chips, but raisins. I have so many things that I can just pound back and it'll be fine. I had her hide the raisins for me. Hide the raisins, sweetheart. I don't want to eat them. She does. She hides them for me so I don't eat them all. See, it's okay to have those things in life, dear brethren. Thank God that he's gracious and forgiving and good. Thank God for some of his external deterrence that he gives to us to keep us from sin. And that's what this was meant to be for Israel judicially. And notice the reason why. You shall put away evil from among you. You shall purge the evil from among you. That is overall what it was meant to be. meant to purge the evil from among them. Now, there are a couple applications we can draw from this section. I kind of distinguished already between, or I talked about the common kingdom, this present age, the way covenant is the charter, what believers and unbelievers can enjoy, not that this world shall be redeemed, but God preserves it until he comes back. But again, the purpose of punishment. I want to highlight, too, I'm not trying to give a full fledged legal system. I'm just trying to highlight some general principles, biblical principles we ought to look for and who we're voting for. I'm not telling you who to vote for, by the way. I'm not being partisan with this. I certainly have my views. I may be. I know I mentioned that man who shall not be named. But if you want to vote for him, that's perfectly OK. I'm not you know, I'm not trying to tell you to vote for him. What's interesting, too, is sometimes Christians can say, oh, we shouldn't be political. Rather, what does political mean? Just means the city, typically, right? The polis, the city, how we live. And God does give us principles to what to look for in how we live in this present evil age. So I'm getting political in that sense that I'm telling you, hey, here's what the civil magistrate ought to look like. Hey, the death penalty, I think, should still apply. I'm getting a little political. But brethren, if it's in the Bible, that's okay. If I certainly bring us back to the gospel, this is okay. We ought to preach the whole counsel of God, all the things that I commanded you, not just the parts that I want. So if I get to Romans 13, I preach the Deuteronomy 18, 17. You know, we might get a little political in that sense, but this is not meant to be a full fledged political system, but it's meant to highlight what we look for. And the purpose of the government, the purpose of the civil magistrate, is to punish the guilty and protect the innocent. That's what eye for eye is. The lex talionis is meant to be for a political system, is meant to be with respect to various judicial processes. And the basis, though, is still always the truth. We live in a relativistic world, not that we do, but people think that, that's what people operate under. And what is deemed just can change daily. And sadly, the results and remedies for injustice change as well. We must come back, and it's not wrong for me to tell the magistrate that you have a specific task under God. Your job is to punish the guilty and protect the innocent based on what God says. I don't care if you're an atheist. I don't care if you're agnostic. I don't care if you're a whatever. You have to do what God says. Punish the guilty and protect the innocent externally. I have no problem saying that to my civil magistrate, to my MLA, MP, judge, et cetera, because God will one day judge them. And we definitely need God. Thankfully, God, we definitely need in our land men who have the fear of God and men who rule justice and equity. Now, God is our salvation and savior, but we can ask based on his way of covenant, God, please punish the guilty, protect the innocent, raise up men who would, that evil might be put away from us. Again, we live in a fallen world. And even with that, when the government is meant to punish the guilty and protect the innocent, it's primarily external, not internal. Only God changes the heart internally. The government's job is to protect behavior or restrain behavior externally. That's what the government is supposed to do. There is also a redemptive kingdom application with respect to the church of Jesus Christ. You probably were thinking, hopefully you were thinking, So you shall put evil away from among you. Hopefully you were thinking first Corinthians 513 in the context of church discipline. There's no perfect church on this side of heaven, dear brethren. And we have to deal with blatant and excuse me, unrepentant sins. And even in Matthew 18 with church discipline and first Timothy five, if there's an accusation against the elders, how many witnesses? Two or three, right? We don't just bring up something against somebody in the church unless it's based on two or three witnesses. And what's interesting is even with church discipline, it is meant to cause people to stop and think and ponder. If someone engages in a unrepentant sin, you go through the first process, the first person comes and says, hey, stop. No. The second person comes. There's a third. There's two people. Now there's two witnesses, right? The third step is you bring it before the church. The church is going to know your dirty laundry. The church is going to know your sins, and they are going to call you and tell you to repent. It's again meant to be a check and balance in place. And it's meant to protect the purity of the church. Hopefully, it leads to restoration. We need to be patient, and there needs to be forgiveness, there needs to be mercy. Again, I think I've said before, it's not Monday, you do the first step, Tuesday, the second step, Thursday, bring it to the church. I skipped a day. Wednesday, you pray to the church. Thursday, you know, now we have to communicate them. Like, you know, there needs to be patience involved, but there's still a process involved to cause people to think. And one thing we should be encouraged by with this is it's how God works. It's how God works in the world around us. It's how God works in the church, where two or three are gathering. I am there with them. That's in the context of Matthew chapter 18. Sometimes we have difficult issues that arise and we need wisdom and patience and God's help. Sometimes God is pleased to use the power of the church that way. Elders and members working together to see his purposes in such situations come forth. Our confession says waiting on Christ. with respect to a membership disciplinary scenario. We wait upon price as the process unfolds. So God is good to give us these processes, both in the common kingdom and the redemptive kingdom. So that's the need for judges. Let's then look thirdly and finally at the difficulty of judges. Don't worry, I'm on my last page. Verses eight through 13. Sometimes there are matters of controversy. Sometimes you don't always know the right course of action, right? Sometimes things are hard. And that is the case too, if there's an issue in the municipal, the municipality, the municipal court. Verse eight, if a matter arises that is too hard for you to judge. Between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, between one punishment or another, Matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise, go up to the place which Lord your God chooses. It's like going to the Supreme Court. Now, Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 19 restores this important function and solidifies it more because there were silly kings that did not keep it and operate according to it. So he does do that in 2 Chronicles 19. But if there are difficult cases, degrees of guilt, differing pleas, punishment, controversy, perhaps they're thinking through whether someone died at the hands of someone and whether that killer did so by negligence, or was it premeditation? What do you do? Sometimes there are those things that are hard to determine. We certainly will see cities of refuge at some time, hopefully, probably in May or June. But yeah, some things are hard to determined. And so what do you do? You go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. You go up to what will be Shiloh, the place where your God chooses to administer, or the place where he would dwell in that sense, and where they ought to worship each and every year with the various festivals, their judgment shall occur too. Verse nine, you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge there in those days and inquire of them. Come to the men, hopefully, that know the law well. And they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. And they shall render a verdict, verse 10, you shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses. You shall be careful to do according to all that they order you to do. Listen to it. careful to observe it. Certainly the priest certainly engaged in the ceremonial aspect of things, but they perhaps helped render some of these judicial cases as well. And notice according to verse 11, according to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, they must do it according to the law, not based on what they want. They must do it based on God's law and principles of accordance with what He has said and revealed, in which they instruct you. According to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left in the sentence which they have pronounced upon you. You must obey and do what they said. You must obey and submit to whatever that is. They must not turn to the right or to the left. The king was also not supposed to turn to the right or to the left, verse 20. But the people or the defendant, in this case, was not supposed to either. In verse 12 and 13, what happens if they rebel? Now the man who acts presumptuously, that is arrogantly, rebelliously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister Same word in the Greek is used in Romans 13. They're meant to serve God in this way. They're meant to worship God in this way by doing what the duty is called them unto. So they do not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God or the judge. That man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from among you. All the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously. Later on, the prophet or the false prophet will act presumptuously in 1822. But if this man does not listen to the priest, he must be removed as well. This disobedience must be purged. The evil must be purged. And all the people shall hear and fear. They all shall listen. They all shall pay attention. they all shall submit to whatever that verdict is and no longer act in such a way. That's what they're supposed to do in difficult cases, difficult situations, matters of controversy, bring it up to the priest in the place that God has chosen unto them. And once again, there is a common kingdom application. Brethren, we are supposed to obey the magistrates, aren't we? Titus 3, 1 Peter 3, and Romans 13. This does fall under the fifth commandment. And again, as much as we are able, we must obey the magistrate. when they tell us to go above and beyond, beyond what God says, we obey God rather than man, we must remember too, that magistrates have been given a specific purpose under heaven. And when a lot of the old boys, a lot of my dead friends said that when they stop engaging in their tasks, they no longer ought to be submitted unto. That's interesting, isn't it? John Knox said, resistance to tyranny is obedience to God. Now I'm not saying I, but I know there's nuance as well. Not everybody liked Knox and his response to that. I've certainly, there's an element where we ought to submit even sometimes to wicked Kings and wicked men, sometimes enduring and bearing for a long period of time, even in the American revolution, when the clergy were talking about rebelling against the tyranny of the British empire, they even talked about, we just need to sometimes when you endure for a while, but there comes a point where that changes and resistance to tyranny becomes obedience to God. All magistrates, they must know that they are under God as well. We must obey God rather than man. We must know that, but also the magistrates must know that as well. One day, they will have to give an account before God Most High, won't they? We'll all have to give an account before God Most High. Thankfully, we're in Christ. We go clothed in Christ's righteousness. We go with the self, same bodies conformed and transformed to Christ's body. We all will stand one day before the judgment seat of God. for justice will be seen. Right judgment will be rendered. And if we see injustice today, we might have to endure it for a long period of time. But one thing, one day, all things will be made right. Hopefully in this life, but for certain in the next life, God will make all things absolutely right with Christ as that just judge. And thankfully, there is a Christological application as well to our Christ, not just the fact that he is the just judge. Christ is born witness to himself, John 8. Christ rules this world, all authority in heaven and earth has been given unto him. And he is a good king, he is a gracious king. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. He's finished his work, he is bringing in, making his enemies his footstool. But he does say, if one wants to be justified in Christ, one wants justice to be seen and poured out upon him instead of themselves, you have to believe upon him. And he says, Verse 15, these Pharisees say, you bear witness of yourself. Your witness is not true. Even if I bear witness, verse 14, of myself, my witness is true. For I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. Yet if I do judge, my judgment is true. For I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am the one who bears witness of myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness of me. Unless you believe that I am, verse 24, you will die and your trespasses and sins. The Son bears witness, the Father bears witness, the Holy Spirit bears witness, The saints of God bear witness. 1 John 5. The gospel bears witness. Baptism bears witness. The blood of martyrs bears witness. We got 40 plus authors that bear witness. It shows the depravity and hard heartedness of man. They don't see the high king of heaven. That's why it requires a great supernatural work of God to show people their sin and show people their need for the Savior. And thankfully in Christ, the end time judgment came forward upon him, the wrath of God poured out upon him, that we who are in him, when we go to that judgment, do so knowing we are not guilty in him. God will take great comfort and encouragement with that. There is forgiveness and mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ, forgiveness for all our transgression. But there certainly are many warnings about that judgment day. Another one is Hebrews 10. It's a lesser to the greater argument there, those who deny Christ, if Anyone rejected Moses's law dies, alluding back to Deuteronomy 17, without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more do you suppose will be the thought of the, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he has sanctified a common thing and insulted the spirit of grace? For we know him who said vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Christ will come. And Christ will make all things right. We believe upon him now, we bow before him now in faith, or will we bow before him in judgment. And thankfully, he is gracious and kind to forgive such sinners like us who violate, who have violated so many of his commandments, who do not do things with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind, yet he did, and we are forgiven in him And that's why justification is so important, because we are not guilty because of what he has done. Let's pray. Our great God, we are thankful that you're the just judge in this world. And we confess, oh God, that we are concerned and perplexed by the things going on in our own nation. We ask, oh God, there would be justice and equity in this land once again, that the nation would no longer kill babies in the womb, no longer trample on the blessedness of marriage, no longer trample on the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be no longer any corruption in all the levels of government. We ask, oh God, especially to protect our own hearts. We pray, oh God, that we, as your church, as your expression of the redemptive kingdom in this world, that we would be a people that honors and glorifies you, that we would worship you aright according to your word, that we would love your word, not just some of it, but all of it with respect to what it says. Thank you that you are the God of justice. And thank you, we can glean some good things from what the scriptures say concerning what you did for Israel. And thank you, O God, that you are the God who is good and gracious and righteous and just and true. And we pray, O God, that you would come again to judge the living and the dead. In the meantime, give us strength, give us wisdom, give us aid for how we ought to navigate the difficult things of this life, how we are called to obey the governing authorities, but also called to obey and not forsake the assembling of ourselves. Thank you, God, that you love and care for us. Please be with us as we go into the world now. Thank you for all that you do for us. And we pray these things in the name of Christ. Amen.